New Orleans Voodoo
Founded: 2002 Owner: Garrett Wolfe Placement: Division III '' ''Alpha Cup victories: 0 Team OVR: 83 Strength: Rush Offense Weakness: Pass Defense Head Coach: Brian Adams Captain: QB Tucker Fox (1st Year) 'New Orleans VooDoo' '' ''The New Orleans VooDoo were originally a member of the Arena Football League. In 1998, New Orleans Saints owner Tom Benson announced plans to form a team in the Arena Football League. Despite this, the team would not be formed until 2002, and began playing in 2004. The team initially set records for attendance, as fans in the Bayou showed out in full to support the team. The team ultimately underachieved their first four seasons, starting strong but collapsing in the second half of the season. In 2008, Tom Benson announced the team would not be continuing in New Orleans, citing "issues within the league" to be the main factor. The team was revived in 2011, when A11FL Commissioner Jim Tading purchased the rights to the team from Benson, under the agreement the team would remain in New Orleans. The VooDoo were announced as an official member of the league several months later towards the end of 2011. At a press conference several days later, former league executive and New Orleans native Garrett Wolfe announced his resignation from his position to become the acting owner of the revived VooDoo franchise, stating he had a desire to "help New Orleans become a three-headed monster of pro football, by adding another title to the legacy of the Saints and Tigers(LSU)." Like every other team, the VooDoo had work to do. Wolfe started by hiring the team's former head coach, Mike Neu, to resume his position as coach. Word began to spread, and fans in the Bayou began to get excited, with even Saints owner Tom Benson stating "this is a great day for fans of Louisiana sports". Neu's first act as head coach was to reach out to his old players, as a number of them were free agents. Within the first 30 days, the team had signed at least 20 former players, most notably former VooDoo QB Alex Kennedy and former VooDoo star WR Charles McClain. The team managed to fill up the majority of their roster around the time the A11FL Draft was announced. Before long, the Draft had arrived, and the VooDoo wee given the 15th pick, which the team used on DE Roger Ellis from Rice, a prototypical player with raw talent. Three days later, it was announced the VooDoo would begin play in Division II, which excited fans to be within range of a championship. The VooDoo opened their season from San Diego inside The Coliseum against the Orlando Predators, another former AFL team. The VooDoo lost 28-17. The 2012 season did not go as fans had hoped, as the VooDoo failed to establish any kind of identity, sinking to a 3-12 record and being demoted to Division III. After the season, head coach Mike Neu announced the team's issues "were completely under control", and said the team would improve in 2013. Fans watched as the VooDoo simply went about business as usual, re-signing most of their starters from the previous season without adding any new weapons. Then came the Draft. Reports that New Orleans was shopping their #7 pick were confirmed when during the draft, it was announced that the VooDoo had indeed traded the #7 pick to the New Jersey Generals in exchange for Generals WR Jonas Little, who had somewhat of a breakout season in 2012. The VooDoo picked up former Saints WR Michael Lewis in the Supplemental Round. The 2013 season started strong for the VooDoo as they won four of their first six games. But a key injury to WR Micheal Lewis played a role in a five-game losing streak for the team. They turned things around and managed to secure a 7-7-1 record, but lost in the opening round to the Honululu Islanders 27-10. Things took a downturn in the offseason after both DE Roger Ellis and WR Jonas Little left via free agency. Neu assured fans that they "could and would be replaced", but the VooDoo were unable to bring in anyone of substantial value via free agency or trade. The VooDoo tried to rebound by selecting RB Douglas Fowler from Michigan State with the 9th pick, but the rookie tore his ACL during a team practice two weeks before the season. As expected, the VooDoo were terrible in 2014, as the team finished a mere 2-13, and found themselves in Division IV. The day after the season ended, owner Garrett Wolfe decided to clean house by firing coach Mike Neu after a three year run resulted in the team being demoted twice, and him posting a 12-32-1 record over that time. Wolfe promised fans "changes were coming". It started with the release of several key players including QB Alex Kennedy. He then hired former Baylor OC Brian Adams as the team's new head coach, who brought with him OC Thomas Strong and DC Greg Neal. The team used about $20M in cap to bring in players to help the team's offensive and defensive lines. Picking at #4, Adams made it clear that in order to succeed, he "had to add playmakers to score points", leading many to believe the team was targeting a WR or QB with their pick. The 2015 Draft had a number of college pros declare for the A11FL, with at least 10 potential NFL 1st & 2nd round picks atop Eric Russo's Top 20 Draft Board. But Adams would go on to surprise virtually everyone at the Draft weeks later, when he passed on several notable talents to select virtually unknown QB Tucker Fox (a former Baylor backup) with the pick. He added TE Brandon Joyner in the Supplemental Round. No one knew much of anything about Tucker Fox, so VooDoo fans were left skeptical at best, but Adams assured fans "he's going to light the league on fire". Before long, the VooDoo announced that Tucker Fox was their starter heading into the 2015 Season. To say the VooDoo turned Division IV upside down in 2015 would be an understatement. Guided by the play of sensational rookie QB Tucker Fox, the VooDoo finished the season with a 10-4-1 record, beating teams such as the Brooklyn Beats and even the Arizona Rattlers based purely on the back of their rookie phenom, who went on to win Division IV Rookie of the Year. The VooDoo went on to defeat the Omaha Nighthawks 38-31 in the first round to advance to the Division IV Championship, where they bested the Honululu Islanders 28-24 to become Division IV Champions, officially earning a spot in Division III. Expectations are high to see what the VooDoo achieve in 2016. 'Player Spotlight: Tucker Fox' Age: 22 Height: 6'1 Weight: 202 lbs. Position: QB A11FL Seasons: 1 Yrs Captain: 0 Awards: Division IV Offensive Rookie of the Year (2015) Tucker Fox has always been an athlete that wanted to transcend the QB position. It began from early on, when he wanted to play football, his idol were Randall Cunningham, that is until he saw Michael Vick play for the first time. At that moment he knew he wanted to be a quarterback. Coming up in rural Detroit, Fox set records in junior high for rushing yards. But by his senior year, Fox didn't have enough tape passing the ball to have schools scout him as a QB. With schools like Ohio State and Missouri wanting him to change his position, only Baylor gave him a shot at QB, so he commited there. Upon arrival, he learned many techniques to clean up his passing from the team's QB Coach Brian Adams. But in three years at Baylor, he had never been able to win the starting job. Seizing an opportunity, he transferred to Oregon in his senior year, where he initially was named the starter in place of Heisman candidate Marcus Mariota. But after just three games, Mariota returned to the starting lineup. Fox did not see the field again for Oregon. After graduation, he registered for the A11FL Rookie Showcase. He played two drives, and scored a TD on both. Still, Fox was overlooked by most of the league. Despite running a time of 4.28 at the combine, coaches just didn't know what to make of him. All but one, his former mentor Brian Adams. To the surprise of everyone including Tucker and his family, Adams selected the playmaking QB with the 4th pick in the 2015 A11FL Draft. Less than 48 hours ago, he was merely a prototype athlete looking at either an NFL Practice Squad or out of the game entirely. Now, he was a member of the New Orleans VooDoo, as well as the only QB on the roster. Tucker went on to win the job, as it was announced several weeks later. This was the shot he had been waiting for since middle school: the chance to prove he was an elite talent. He refused to pass it up. His rookie year had one objective: lead the VooDoo to the playoffs. That he did, and then some. Tucker's game-breaking speed, elusiveness and short-range missiles completely overwhelmed defenses across the league as he won the Division IV Offensive Rookie of the Year, and led the previously 2-13 New Orleans VooDoo past the Nighthawks and Islanders to a D-IV Title, and a spot in D-III. At just 22, fans are excited to see how the dynamo develops under his former mentor now coach. Tucker is young and raw, but possesses the willpower and talent to possibly be the best player in the league with the right coaching. Only time will tell how he does after setting a measurable bar as a rookie. '''Strengths: '''Easily one of the fastest players in the league. Game-breaking speed, agility and field vision upon takeoff reminiscent of a young Michael Vick. Excellent spins and jukes to avoid big hits. Often fights for extra yards to extend big play moments. Excels at passing when on the run and most passes within a 20-25 yard range. Good footwork, able to anticipate most blitz schemes. '''Weaknesses: '''Terribly inconsistent pertaining passes over 25 yards. Known to get trigger happy when leaving the pocket. Rarely stays in the pocket, making it difficult to track him for linemen. Deep accuracy needs to improve. Slow at reading coverage packages, leading to misjudgments between him and his receivers. Doesn't throw a tight spiral consistently.